Hedge-Wizard
Hedge-wizards are common in rural areas, where their mixture of magic, herbalism, and quackery is frequently in demand by peasants who cannot afford more professional services. Hedge-wizards can range from harmless old men and women (often called warlocks and witches) to sinister recluses living in ruined towers. Their main distinguishing feature is their lack of formal magical training. Many cannot read or write and have discovered spells in their own eccentric fashion, which bears little resemblance to the formal theories of the magical colleges. Their dabblings in magic sometimes leads them into the dangerous paths of necromancy and daemonology and experienced hedge-wizards often know more about such things than more formally-trained wizards. Much of their time is spent working with herbs and medical potions (which some may pass off as magic), healing the sick, and telling fortunes. Hedge-wizards can learn and cast spells from any discipline of magic, except Colour and High Magic, up to their level of hedge-wizardry. However, spells from disciplines other than petty magic cost double the normal cost (i.e., 400 EPs per level) and a hedge-wizard can learn no more than four non-petty magic spells at each level. This is because hedge-wizards have had little or no formal training in magic and, therefore, have difficulty understanding other methods of describing and explaining spells. Their lack of knowledge of Arcane Language: Magick and, in many cases, the fact that they cannot even read means that hedge-wizards must either learn spells from a teacher or invent them themselves, which is time-consuming and often unsuccessful. Being able to learn spells from any discipline can allow hedge-wizards to become powerful users of magic, although, if it happens, this will take a long time. Gamesmasters are free to veto any spells that they don't think a Player Character hedge-wizard could reasonably have learned during a campaign. On top of this, any hedge-wizards who study daemonology, necromancy, or Dark or Chaotic magic gain D6 Insanity Points and one disability each time they learn a spell of this type, due to the lack of training that would give them some way of resisting the damaging influence of the spells. In addition, the first time they attempt to learn a spell from each of these disciplines, their alignment will move one step closer to Chaos as a result of the corrupting nature of their work. Becoming a traditional wizard is possible but difficult for hedge-wizards. Their illiteracy and lack of understanding of the basic skills needed to study and learn magical texts means that they must swallow their pride and become apprenticed to an academic wizard - something most hedge-wizards are too independent-minded to even consider, even if they could find a wizard who would take them on. There is also the danger that if they reveal their magical abilities to the wrong person, they will be denounced as a witch or a follower of Chaos and burnt alive. Skills - Level 1 *Blather *Cast Spells: any Level 1 *Dowsing *Herb Lore *Magical Sense *Meditation *Palmistry Skills - Level 2 *Brewing *Cast Spells: any Level 2 *Chemistry *Divining *Evaluate *Heal Wounds *Magical Awareness Skills - Level 3 *Cast Spells: any Level 3 *Cure Disease *Identify Undead *Manufacture Potions *Prepare Poisons Skills - Level 4 *Cast Spells: any Level 4 *Daemon Lore *Identify Magical Artifact *Surgery Magic Points *+4D4 per level Trappings *Old and tattered robes *Staff *3D6 Gold Crowns Career Exits *Hedge-Wizard - of the next level *Grey Wizard - level 1 (with GM's permission) *Light Wizard - level 1 (with GM's permission) *Wizard's Apprentice Category:Rules Category:Careers